Friends, or maybe more?
by AGL4597
Summary: DISCONTINUED Neville and Luna meet in Herbology class, in the beginning of 4th year. They have a certain connection, and become fast friends, or are they more? Neville and Luna's untold experiences during the GoF.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note- **My first HP fan fic! Neville and Luna are one of my favorite couples, JK's only mistake was not putting these two together! This story takes place in the beginning of 4th year, and this is the first time they meet. Luna and Neville are in the same year, which is different from the books, but I don't care. They're both in 4th year, okay?

I know there are some inconsistencies, but I did my research (Thanks HP Wiki!) and tried to stay as accurate as possible. I really tried to capture the "essence" of the characters, I had a bit of difficulty with Luna, thinking it wasn't near "weird" enough for her, but I tried. Please, give me your opinions! I know this is kind of crappy, don't be afraid to tell me! R&R, and Enjoy! If I get enough interest I will continue this story through the end of 4th year, and will probably write a freaking novel.

I do not own the characters, etc.

* * *

"Welcome, class," announced Professor Sprout. "I trust you've all had a good summer holiday, but now that we are back at Hogwarts, I will not tolerate any poor behavior. Now will I, Mr. Weasley?"

The red-haired boy sitting in the back corner, who had been talking to his friends during Professor Sprout's usual first day lecture, nodded and said, "Yes, ma'am." He rolled his eyes, but, luckily for him, the professor had moved on and did not see.

"We will move right into our lessons and waste no time. We'll begin by reviewing the things you _should have _learned in your third year. Now, follow me!" called Professor Sprout, as she escorted the children into the classroom portion of the green house. There were several tall black tables, and at each table, two stools.

"Now, I will assign you your seats, and therefore, also your partner whom you will be working with periodically throughout the year. Nothing has changed since third year, I'm sorry to say that you will once again be seated alphabetically." This was met with various groans from the students.

"Ms. Abbot and Ms. Bell, you are at station one," she called, and continued to seat her class… After a few minutes she got to the L's.

"Neville Longbottom, station eleven," Professor said, with a smile. A tall, lanky boy strode over to his table, and stumbled a bit, which was met by laughs from his fellow classmates. Neville had always been clumsy, and to add to that he had grown a substantial amount over the summer. He was now one of the tallest boys in his year, and it showed that he had not quite adjusted to his new height. He was very shy, had slightly curly, messy brown hair, and was Professor Sprout's best student.

"And Lovegood, also station eleven." A willowy Ravenclaw floated over to the table. She had curly, white-blonde hair, silvery gray eyes, and wore a butterbeer cork necklace and dirigible plum earrings. She was strange, to say the least, but she gracefully sat down at the station, placing her worn out copy of _1,000 Magical Herbs and Fungi _on the table-top.

"Hi, I'm Luna," she said, in a dreamy voice.

"Ummm, hi. I'm, uh, um, Neville," said the boy. He was always nervous talking to girls, and for some reason he was especially nervous talking to Luna. His palms were beginning to sweat, and he hastily wiped them on his robes.

As the last students were taking their seats, Professor Sprout made her way to the front of the classroom.

"Okay, class. Pull out your textbooks and turn to page 259. We'll begin by reviewing the puffapod and how to harvest them, and continue on to the other various subjects we have learned about. I expect you to take notes, because this will be on the review quiz that we'll be having tomorrow!"

The class began to ruffle through pages, take out parchment, and the like. Luna pulled out a quill, but accidentally dropped it on the floor. Both Luna and Neville knelt down to pick it up, and their hands touched. Neville noticed her hands were ice cold, but then again, maybe his were just very warm. They both blushed, nervously.

"I've got it," said Neville, hastily grabbing the quill and handing it to Luna.

"Why, thank you, Neville," she said. They both began laughing.

As the lesson started, Neville found himself having trouble paying attention. Herbology was his favorite class, and any other day he would have been alert. He was always greatly interested in the subject and couldn't wait to learn. But, today he couldn't focus on Professor Sprout's words. He found his gaze drifting to his side, to Luna. Her delicate, long, pale fingers brushed a wisp of hair out of her face, and tucked it behind her ear. She was quickly taking notes in slanted, elegant script.

All of a sudden she looked up, and there was Neville staring at her, with a dazed look on his face. Neville turned bright red with embarrassment, and Luna's pale face grew dramatically scarlet. She gave him a small smile and returned to her notes, and Neville quickly forced his attention back to Professor Sprout's droning voice.

For the rest of the hour, Neville struggled to stay focused, but finally the bell rang. He quickly packed up his things, but before he could go, he heard Luna's dream-like voice.

"It was nice meeting you, Neville. See you later!"

"Oh, um yeah, nice to meet you too. Uh, bye," he said, awkwardly. He rushed out of the classroom, but his foot caught on a table leg, and he tripped. Fortunately, he caught himself. He looked back to see Luna giggling. But it wasn't how other people laughed at him, it was different, in some way.

"Bye," she said, with a wave.

The rest of Neville's morning was a blur. All he could think about was Luna. Why did he feel so strongly about her, he'd just met her!? She was just another girl. But he couldn't even convince himself of that, she most definitely was not like any other girl he had met.

At lunch he was abnormally quiet and detached from conversation, even for his shy self. No one noticed, why would they? He was just Neville. He wasn't the famous "Chosen One", star Quidditch player Harry, or the jokester Ron. Well, no one noticed except Hermione Granger. You couldn't slip a thing past that girl! Neville could tell she was worried, and towards the end of lunch, she finally broke down and asked Neville:

"Hey, what's wrong? You don't seem yourself today."

"Nothing's wrong," he lied.

"Don't try that with me Neville Longbottom, I know when something's up. Please, tell me! You know you can trust me."

"I'm fine, Hermione," but just by the way he said it, she could tell something was definitely wrong.

"C'mon… are you feeling okay?" she asked.

"Now that you mention it, I'm feeling a little sick," he scoffed, then headed out of the Great Hall.

After lunch, Neville reluctantly headed to Potions class. He walked down into the Hogwarts dungeons, where the class was held. Even after three years, he still got creeped out going down there. As he entered the classroom, the familiar scowl of the Potions Master, Severus Snape, greeted him. Neville used to be extremely afraid of Professor Snape, and to tell you the truth he still sort of was, but as he passed the teacher, he could barely contain his laughter as he thought of Snape in his grandmother's clothing.

Neville was one of the last students to make their way to the classroom. He looked around, but could not find an open table. Just like the Herbology room, there were two chairs at each table, but every spot seemed to be filled. He frantically scanned the room, but did not look in the back corner…

"Longbottom, take a seat," Snape said in his nasally, monotone, voice.

"Oh, ummm…" Nellie stammered. Suddenly, he heard someone whisper his name.

"Neville, over hear," said the familiar, bubbly, dream-like voice.

"_No, no, no, no, no," _thought Neville, _"it can't be." _But it was. He turned around to see none other than Luna Lovegood, and the last empty seat.

"_I can't sit next to her, I'll make a fool out of myself!" _Neville though, but he had no choice. Where was this hidden Gryffindor courage when he needed it?

"Sorry, Professor," he mumbled, and hurried to take his seat.

"Hello again," said Luna quietly.

"Hi," he replied. Just then, the bell rang and Snape began to speak:

"Wiggenweld Potion, very basic. A healing potion with the power to awaken a being from a magically-induced sleep. Commonly known as an antidote to the Draught of Living Death. Your assignment is to brew this potion. A pop quiz for the new school year, and I warn you it will be heavily graded. You may use your text book, your partner, and your brain, which some of you seem to be lacking. Now, begin."

"So, Wiggenweld Potion," said Neville nervously.

"Yeah, let's get started," Luna stated confidently.

"One problem, where do we start?" joked Neville. Luna laughed, and it was a very light and airy laugh.

"_Wow, she's actually laughing at my joke,"_ thought Neville. That had never happened before. A living, breathing, human girl thought he was funny. His nerves seemed to go away, at least momentarily.

"Don't worry, I know just what to do. We need to start off with a pint of horklump juice," she said, "and then seven chizpurfle fangs."

"How do you remember all this?" Neville asked.

"Oh, quite easy. This was one of the first potions I learned, and I use it all the time. Father taught me to brew Wiggenweld, and Draught of Living Death, too. When we go on our expeditions for the Crumple-Horned Snorkack we need to seduce them with the Draught of Living Death, so we can safely study them, you know? They're actually quite nasty creatures, with beastly horns. Somewhat dangerous, and very elusive. But beautiful, none the less. Anyway, when we release them we have to re-awaken them, and we use Wiggenweld, so I've be making it for years."

"That's really cool," said Neville, kind of in awe. He'd never heard of the "Simple-Headed Snack Wrap."

"You think so? Most people call me crazy when I tell them," she said.

"Really? I don't think your crazy, it sounds really neat. What else do you know about them?" Neville asked. Luna was absolutely beaming now.

"Well, they live in the Northern regions of Sweden…" she began, and that's how the rest of class went. Neville would hand her the ingredients for the potion, and she would expertly add them in precise increments, stirring the exact amount of times. And whilst doing this, she would tell him stories of all the magical creatures she and her father believed in. Heliopaths and blibbering humdingers, moon frogs and wrackspurts. Neville didn't know how much of it was really true, but either way it was pretty darn fascinating. And, he was unusually relaxed around a girl, and actually having fun.

"Okay, I think it's done," stated Luna, after throwing in the final ingredient, salamander blood, and giving the brew a final stir. It turned from a ghastly brown color to a rich magenta. "Yep, we got it!" she said with a bright smile, showing her pearly white teeth.

Just then, Snape began making his rounds throughout the tables. He approached Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas's table. Their cauldron was filled with a smelly, orange substance.

"You forgot the powdered root of asphodel, added the moly petals too early and the honeywater drops too late. F," he remarked. He circled the class, grading a rainbow of potions. Lastly, Snape came toward Luna and Neville's table.

"Hmmm," he said. He stirred the potion, and bent over to smell it. "Seems to me that you drafted the perfect Wiggenweld potion, the only of all my classes. Not even know-it-all Granger remembered the sprig of mint. You get a B."

"Wait, what? A B? You said it was perfect! Why?!?" shouted an agitated Neville.

"It's okay, Neville. It's not worth it," said Luna soothingly.

"You received a B because you're a Lovegood and Longbottom. Since you question my authority, you will both be receiving a night of detention. Report here at 5 o'clock tonight and to do expect to be done until 8," he retorted.

"But-" started Neville.

"Longbottom, you know I don't tolerate talking back. That's ten points from Gryffindor and ten from Ravenclaw, too." After Snape had left, the students began quietly chatting amongst themselves, despite Snape's strict class rules. He looked so exhausted from the first day, and he didn't seem to mind.

"Luna, I'm really sorry. This is all my fault. I shouldn't have said anything, then you wouldn't have detention, and Ravenclaw wouldn't have lost points. It's just that you're amazing, and he's too stupid to realize it," Neville apologized.

"You really think I'm amazing?" asked Luna, her lustrous gray eyes staring into his. Whoops, he hadn't even noticed he said that out loud.

"Yeah, absolutely," he said, with a blush.

"You know what? I am more than happy to sacrifice ten points for an excuse to spend tonight with you, Neville Longbottom, even if it may be in detention with Snape."

The remainder of the day, Neville was in a daze. It may sound kind of ironic, but he couldn't wait to get to detention. Finally, A History of Magic was let out. He hurried to the Gryffindor Common Room to study, cramming as much info on the 1726 Goblin Rebellions into his head as it would allow, and trying to master _protego_, a shield charm. It reached 15 minutes to 5 o'clock, and he excitedly headed to the dungeons. He passed Hermione and Ron on the way.

"Where you goin', Neville, and why in such a hurry?" asked Ron, curiously.

"Detention," Neville replied with a grin.

"To each his own," snorted Ron, and even Hermione couldn't help but laugh.

As Neville rounded the corner, he saw Luna waiting for him at the entrance to the dungeons.

"Didn't want to go in alone," she said sheepishly.

"That's understandable, Snape is a creep. I honestly think he enjoys scaring children," he said with a grin. Luna laughed at his joke, _again_. Neville liked that.

They strode down the corridor leading to the dungeons, going deeper and deeper underground. Finally, they reached the classroom, and Snape was waiting inside.

"I see that you two have made it on time," said Snape. "As your punishment, you'll be sorting potion ingredients for the next three hours. They get unorganized during the school year, and I didn't have the time to resort them before the summer holiday. This isn't social time, it's painstaking work and I do not want any mistakes."

He led them into the ingredient pantry, carrying 3 large boxes, closed the door, and said _lumos_ under his breath. All the candles lit, and the room was a-glow. There were wall to wall shelves filled with curious concoctions. Everything was slightly dusty, and looked very old.

"Here are the new ingredients we have this year," he said, gesturing to the boxes. "Everything else from previous years is in this pantry, and needs sorting. Place them on the correct shelf, they're all labeled. Combine two half empty bottles to make a full, et cetera, et cetera. Need I go on?"

"No, we understand sir," said Luna.

"Now get to work, there's a lot to do. I expect this done by 8," said Snape, and with that, he left, closing the door behind him.

"Well, let's get to work, shall we?" said Luna, her liquid silver eyes twinkling in the candle light. Neville now noticed just how beautiful she really was, with her wavy blond hair draped across her shoulder, her porcelain skin and soft, pink lips. She was just as tall as him, maybe an inch shorter, and had thin, long, graceful limbs. And here they were, together, in a dimly lit closet… he had an overwhelming urge to kiss her… he even began to lean towards her, but snapped out of it.

"_Oh, god Neville, what are you doing!?"_ he shouted at himself.

"Oh, right. Here's a few bottles of belladonna seeds," Neville said, placing them on their shelf. The sorting was slow work, since they weren't allowed to use magic as punishment, but it was fun with Luna. Heck, anything would've been fun with Luna. She was just so _different_, not like any other person Neville had met. She was, interesting, to say the least.

"Well, I've talked too much today, so tell me about yourself," said Luna, placing vials of boom berry juice in their appropriate location.

"Well, I like plants," Neville said, kind of embarrassed. Girls usually found a Herbology nerd a bit of a turn off. "That's about all I got."

"That's great! Herbology is my favorite subject," she said excitedly.

"Really? Me too! Well, obviously," he said. They both started laughing.

"What do you suppose we'll be doing tomorrow, in Herbology?" she asked. "I'm anxious to start learning about the Fanged Geranium and Venomous Tentacula, I hear they're quite remarkable."

"_Nice, funny, smart, pretty, _and_ she likes plants? Jesus…" _Neville thought.

"Hmmm, I think she said something about a review test, just on stuff from third year. We won't be learning about those plants for a while. Professor Sprout takes things really slow," Neville said.

"Phew, I'm glad it is just review. I couldn't focus today for some reason," Luna stated.

"Weird, I neither could I…," Neville said, but he knew exactly why.

After a grueling, yet enjoyable three hours of chatting and sorting various beakers, vials, and bottles, they had finally finished. And just in time, because only a few minutes later Snape walked in.

"Good, you finished. You're free to go, but next time I won't be so lenient."

They walked out, and Neville couldn't resist whispering:

"And he was lenient _this_ time?" They both had to suppress laughter.

Neville walked Luna back to the Ravenclaw common room. They were the only people out, as it was almost curfew, and the corridors were getting dark. As they approached the entrance, Luna turned to him and said:

"I had a great time tonight, in detention. Wow, that sounds weird. But, tonight was even better than fishing for plimpies! I hope we can, uh, do it again sometime, without having to be in trouble, you know? I've never really had any friends before, and tonight was almost like having a friend. And thanks for walking me back, you didn't have to do that."

"I had a lot of fun too. And I like hanging with you, we should definitely do it again, as friends. Oh, and it's nothing," Neville said.

"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then," she said, and with a wave, she turned to go.

"Bye," said Neville quietly, and headed back to his own common room.

"Heya, Neville, how was detention?" asked Ron.

"Yeah, I heard you're a real rebel now that we're in fourth year," joked Harry. Neville never used to get in trouble.

"Detention was great, actually, thanks for asking. I spent three hours sorting potion ingredients, and I loved it," he said, completely honest.

"Well then," said Harry. "Excuse me."

But Neville didn't care about Harry and Ron's jokes, he felt on top of the world. Hermione noticed his unusually good mood. God, that Hermione notices just about everything.

"You seem to be in a better mood than at lunch," she stated, with an icy tone in her voice, coming over to the chair he had sat down in, and few feet away from Harry and Ron.

"Sorry about that, Hermione. I don't know what came over me. It's just, you try to know everything about a person's life, and sometimes they're just not ready to tell you," he said, sadly.

"Ohhh, Neville, I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"It's okay," he said.

"Do you want to tell me now?" she asked.

"HERMIONE!" Neville yelled, but laughed.

"Is it about school?" Hermione continued to question him.

"No."

"Are you _really_ sick?"

"No."

"Is it about a girl?" she asked, a smile spreading across her face.

"Ummm, no," he said, but it wasn't very convincing, not even to him.

"It is, it is!!! Who is she, Neville?" Hermione asked.

"No one, no one," he said.

"Come on, I know you're lying!" she said, and playfully smacked his arm.

Neville realized it was over, he was fighting a loosing battle. Once Hermione Granger set her mind to something, nothing would stop her.

"Fine, but I don't think you'll know her," he said reluctantly.

"Ok, who is she?" she curiously asked.

"I met this person, who just happens to be girl. And we're _just_ friends. I don't like her or anything, okay? Her name is Luna," he said.

"Who?" she questioned.

"Luna," he said a bit louder.

"I can't hear you Neville, speak up."

"Luna Lovegood, okay?" he said.

"Ooh, I know her! Luna, Luna Lovegood! You like Luna Lovegood!" Hermione squealed, a bit too loudly.

"No, I _do not _like her! We're just friends, Hermione, I told you that!" he shouted.

"Wait, Neville here likes Loony?" asked Ron, a smirk on his face. He head listened in on their conversation. "Crazy, Loony Lovegood, who believes in all those made up animals? C'mon Neville, you can do better than that!" Ron and Harry were laughing hysterically.

"Don't. Call. Her. Loony." said Neville, standing up, his hands curled into fists at his sides.

"Stop it you guys, it's not funny!" shouted Hermione, tearfully.

"Neville has a girlfriend, Neville has a _mental_ girlfriend! Who ever thought that would happen?" joked Harry, clutching his side.

"She's _not_ my girlfriend, and she's _not_ mental!" Neville yelled. His ears were turning red with anger.

"Loony Lovegood, barking mad just like her father," Ron said, gasping for air.

That was it, that was the last straw. Neville couldn't take it anymore. He punched Ron, square in the back with all his force.

"Ahhh! God, Neville, calm down. We were just having a laugh," Ron shouted.

"Don't joke about Luna, you git. Not. About. Luna." Neville said sternly, and stomped up the stairs, up to bed, where those enchanting gray eyes stared at him in his dreams.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note-**Short, crappy chapter, I know! Sorry, but I felt the need to update. I changed things around so the "feelings" between Neville and Luna didn't develop so fast. Thanks for the help Rel Luna!

* * *

After tossing and turning all night, Neville reluctantly gave up the fight to fall asleep and got out of bed at around three in the morning. He couldn't sleep, Luna was on his mind. He thought about everything they had talked about that day. He remembered how he stared at her in Herbology, and the incident in the potions closet, where he had almost tried to kiss her, and shuddered.

"Why did I do that?" he thought angrily. Luckily, Luna hadn't seemed to notice. The problem was, Neville seemed to like every girl that didn't think he was a looser (which were few and far between). He had liked Hermione and Ginny, secretly of course, until he got more and more used to them as just friends. Now, he was comfortable with them, and would make a sick face if anyone every mentioned them being "together".

Neville knew he had just gotten caught up in the moment, and he didn't like Luna "like that". He thought that they could be good friends, though. She was nice, and smart, and liked Herbology, too. Although, she was kind of weird, well make that really weird… But who was he to call her weird, anyway? Hadn't he always been the odd one out, an outcast as well, even with friends like Harry? He hoped he could get to know Luna better, maybe he might even introduce her to Hermione and Ginny, but not to Harry and Ron. Not yet…

He looked out the window, it was a beautiful, crisp, September night. Neville saw the full moon and the twinkling stars, shining bright in the black velvet sky. He thought about Luna, her eyes reminded him of two, big, gleaming moons.

But as the morning passed, Neville began to sort out his thoughts. Just as the round, orange sun was rising over the hills, he came to the conclusion that he did not think of Luna in that way, and she was merely someone he'd like to get to know, and become friends with.  
Finally, feeling relieved that he'd figured things out, Neville headed back to bed, only to be awoken by his alarm a few hours later. He reluctantly got of bed, and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. All this thinking had deprived him of a decent night's rest. He dressed in his uniform, proudly straightened his Gryffindor tie, and headed down to the Great Hall to eat breakfast.

As he walked in, he saw Luna, sitting on the end of the Ravenclaw table by herself, reading a magazine, upside-down? He grabbed a muffin and strolled over to her, unusually confident.

"Hey, Luna. Whatcha reading?" Neville asked, genuinely curious. He then thought that maybe she didn't want to talk, and quickly added

"Sorry to bother you."

"Hello, Neville! It's no problem, I'd love to talk. I was just reading The Quibbler before Herbology. My father's the editor," she said in her dreamy voice. "This issue's about Gernumbli Magic."

"Neat. That's like gnomes, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, it is! Most people have no idea what I'm talking about, they tend to think I'm a bit loony," she said with a smile. Neville grimaced as he thought about Ron and Harry the night before. He looked over her shoulder and began to read.

"Wow, I didn't know gnome saliva increased your creativity! It gives you the urge to sing opera and give speeches in Mermish? Pretty fascinating," he exclaimed.

"You know, Neville, you're the first person to say that," she said happily, while closing the magazine and standing up. "Ready for that Herbology quiz?"


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note- I had a hard time writing this chapter, it isn't very good. It's short and crappy, but this is the last chapter that will be like this, I promise! I needed Luna to be introduced to everyone, and this is the best way I found to do it. This is basically a short, filler chapter.

* * *

Neville and Luna left the Great Hall and walked outside into the crisp morning, across the Hogwarts grounds, and to the Herbology greenhouse.

"Good morning Mr. Longbottom, Ms. Lovegood," greeted Professor Sprout. "I hope you remembered that you'll be taking a quiz! Although it won't be a problem for you two, you're some of my best students."

Indeed, both Neville and Luna both easily passed the review quiz, and later brewed a perfect hiccupping solution in Potions class. Luna was a genius with potions, much to Snape's dismay.

At the end of the evening, all of the students gathered for supper. The Great Hall was glowing in candlelight, and students were filing in to eat. Neville once again spotted Luna, sitting by herself at the end of the Ravenclaw table. She wasn't eating, but was intently studying her Charms book. He walked up to her and asked:

"Hey, Luna. Want to sit with us, well Ginny, Hermione, and I? I mean, if you're not busy."

'"Really?" she questioned. "You wouldn't mind?"

"Yeah, really come on! As long as_ you _wouldn't mind sitting with a bunch of Gryffindors," he said with a laugh.

"That sounds great, Neville, thank you," she said politely. She gathered her things, and they walked to where Ginny and Hermione were sitting and eating their dinner.

"Hey guys, this is Luna," Neville said, introducing his new friend. He gave Hermione a stern glance, he didn't want her blabbing about anything they had said the night before in the common room. '"Luna, this is Hermione and Ginny."

"Hello," said Luna, as she gracefully perched on a seat.

"Hi," said Ginny, as she gave Hermione a questioning look. Luna did look a bit unordinary with her strange jewelry, and Ginny and Hermione had both heard all the crazy stories about her. But the girls started chatting, as only girls can. Neville caught only a few snippets of conversation, but were just glad that they were getting along. Everything was going great, until Ron and Harry showed up.

"What is _she _doing here?!?" Ron scoffed, gesturing towards Luna. "Shouldn't you be sitting alone at the Ravenclaw table like usual?" But before Neville could reply, Hermione could tell him to shut up, or Ginny could smack him, Luna spoke up:

"And hello to you, too, Ron. How are things going at The Burrow? We haven't talked to you in quite a while. I heard you went to the Quidditch World Cup this summer. Quite a match, wasn't it? Too bad Bulgaria lost, I think they were an overall better team, and Krum is an amazing player. A close score, too close, but I think their Keeper just had some nerves, and the Irish were able to get a few points ahead."

"Right, well, uh…" Ron stuttered. He didn't know quite what to say. He had hostile feelings toward Luna, but he was impressed by her knowledge of Quidditch.

"But do you really think Bulgaria has a better team? " asked Ron.

Neville smiled. Luna had won over Ron and Harry, who had just a day earlier been calling her "Loony Lovegood", by talking about the thing they loved most, Quidditch.

"Well, I think Bulgaria's offense is by far better, but then again the Irish have a very strong defense…" Luna stated.

As the rest of the table joined in the Quidditch discussion, Neville talked to Luna.

"Were you at the match?" he asked.

"Sadly, no. Dad wasn't able to get tickets," she said, rather melancholy.

"Same here, my Gran didn't want to go," he stated glumly. "But I didn't know you were in to Quidditch!"

"I didn't know you were, either," said Luna.

"Well, I don't play much. The only one around is my grandmother, and she's not too keen on playing, you know? Plus, I fell off a broom and broke my wrist in the first year, and haven't really flew much more since."

"Maybe we could play sometime, all of us. That would be fun. Don't worry, I'm not such a great flier either, and I always forget about those darn bludgers! I've gotten hit in the head pretty good quite a few times."

"Well, that explains a lot," joked Ron, but in a friendly way. Everyone, even Luna laughed. "Sorry, I couldn't resist!"

The rest of the lunch Ron, Harry, Luna, Neville, and Ginny had a heated debate over which was a better team, Bulgaria or Ireland. Even Hermione piped in a few times, and she didn't really know the sport all that well.

Neville grinned as he looked down the table. All his old friends, and one new, were talking, smiling, laughing, and getting along. It was going to be a _great _year.

* * *

Author's Note- Well, it wasn't great, and was super short, but it works for the purpose I needed it for (getting Luna introduced to the gang.)

In the next chapter I'll be briefly mentioning the next 2 months, but basically skipping over things until October 30th where Durmstrang and Beauxbaton's come into the picture. (Remember this is the beginning of 4th year?) I'm changing things from the book, Dumbledore will announce that Hogwarts will be hosting the Triwizard tournament at dinner on the 30th, then the Durmstrang and Beauxbaton's students will come in, and he will continue the the talk, then announce the competitors on the 31st. I know you may be thinking this doesn't have much to do with Neville and Luna, and to tell you the truth it really doesn't, but I think it's an important event and I'll be "logging" their conversation throughout the evening.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note- I worked really hard on this chapter! Hope you like it! Sorry it took so long! I tried to keep them in character, but not sure how well I did.

* * *

September, as well as October, came and went, and the leaves on the Whomping Willow turned golden and began to fall. The air became cool and frosty as time went on, and Hogwarts students were hustling around the grounds in their winter cloaks and scarves. Luna had been spending more and more time with Neville, as well as Hermione and Ginny, and they all came to be quite good friends. Even Ron and Harry were accepting of her, though they still had a laugh whenever she mentioned Crumple-Horned Snorkacks. One day in Charms class Ron had mentioned:

"You know, she's grown on me, Luna. I know she's insane, but it's in a good way."

October was coming to a close, and on the 30th the students headed to the Great Hall for dinner, like any other day. The Halloween feast was tomorrow, but tonight it was just another ordinary day. At least that's what they thought…

Luna had taken to sitting at the Gryffindor table at almost all meals, much to the dismay of the other students. But no professors seemed to notice or care, so there she stayed. As Hermione, Ron, Harry, Ginny, Neville, and Luna settled in to their usual seats, Professor Dumbledore began to speak.

"It is my pleasure to announce that Hogwarts will be hosting the Triwizard Tournament for the first time in over 200 years…" Dumbledore began, explaining the tournament in detail. His speech was met with much enthusiasm from the students. He went on to describe the technicalities of the tournament. The Goblet of Fire, the tasks, the trophy, and the glory of being the champion.

"I am pleased to introduce the other schools that will be competing. Hogwarts, first give a warm welcome to Igor Karkaroff and his students from Durmstrang Institute!"

All of a sudden, a group of boys entered the Great Hall. The Durmstrang students were all very tall, strong, and good looking, and were dressed in brown fur. They marched into the hall, carrying staffs. The procession was very powerful, to say the least, and led by their headmaster, Karkaroff. He was a burly looking man with a large beard and cold, heartless eyes. Behind Karkaroff was Viktor Krum, the world famous Quidditch player.

The Hogwarts students clapped, most of them completely surprised and dazed by the evening. It was quite unexpected.

"Wow," Neville whispered to Luna.

"I know," she replied, turning to face him, her brilliant slate gray eyes staring into his. "Wow about, well everything tonight. Who would've thought?" Then she returned her gaze to the Durmstrang students, particularly eyeing Krum. Instinctively, Neville had a surge of jealousy and felt his cheeks flush with anger.

As the excitement from Durmstrang, and Neville, calmed down, Dumbledore announced the next school.

"And welcome to Olympe Maxime and her students from Beauxbatons Academy of Magic!"

A flood or gorgeous girls dressed in blue silk, and a giant woman, entered the hall. Neville, and every other boy in the room, couldn't help but stare.

"Beautiful, aren't they?" asked Luna, in her voice that was even more dreamy than usual.

"Heck yeah," said Ron, which was meant with a disapproving glance from Hermione.

"Oh, um, yeah, I guess," stuttered Neville. He was blushing a deep scarlet.

"Who is _she_?" asked Harry, gaping, and pointing to a blond student who radiantly smiled. Even in the midst of the other pretty girls, she stood out as being extraordinarily attractive.

"She's unnaturally pulchritudinous. No quotidian person looks like that. I'm assuming she's a Veela, that's the only plausible explanation," stated Hermione, purposely using her wide vocabulary to seem superior. Her voice had a tone of disgust. But none of the boys heard her, they were too busy staring, as boys do. Even Neville couldn't help himself.

"All I know is that's not a normal girl! They don't make them like that at Hogwarts!" Ron joked.

"Boys are utterly repulsive creatures," Hermione retorted.

"Tell me about it," said Ginny, with a roll of her eyes. Luna simply laughed, a mutual sign of agreement.

As the boys returned to reality, Dumbledore once again began speaking.

"Welcome, my friends. Hogwarts is delighted to have you here with us for the Triwizard Tournament. Any student, who is 17 years or older, may enter their name into the Goblet of Fire, for a chance to be one of three champions selected, one from each school."

Dumbledore flicked his wand at the goblet, and it went ablaze in bright blue flame. With another graceful movement a circle of silver light surrounded the goblet, which resembled the lustrous gray eyes of Luna.

"To enter, you simply must write your name on a piece of parchment, and put it in the goblet. This ring is an Age Line, so only those of age will be able to enter. Tomorrow night, at the end of the Halloween feast, the names of the three champions will be drawn. I wish you all the best of luck, and good night."

"Can you believe that?" asked Ron excitedly. "The Triwizard Tournament is being held here at Hogwarts! I read about it somewhere-"

"Ronald Bilius Weasley, you can read?" joked Hermione.

Ron rolled his eyes. "Contrary to popular belief, Hermione, I actually _can_ read, though I don't do it very often. As I was saying, I read about the tournament, and the reason it was stopped is because a bunch of people died when competing in the tasks."

"Really?" asked Neville. "Who in their right mind would even want to enter if they knew they could die!?"

"Seriously! But who do you think will represent Hogwarts?" asked Luna.

"I don't know… hopefully not a Slytherin," scoffed Harry.

"Tell me about it. They're full of themselves as it is," said Ron.

As Dumbledore's speech came to a close and dinner resumed, students were excitedly chattering, and already a few people had put their names into the goblet. Angelina Johnson had entered, and Ron remarked:

"I've got my money on Angelina. She's an absolute beast on the Quidditch field. In a good way, I mean."

Some students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons had also entered their names. One of the first was Viktor Krum.

"I reckon Krum will be the Durmstrang champion. He's amazing," said Luna in her pensive voice. A pang of jealousy rose in Neville's thin chest once more, and he could feel his face turning bright red.

"Someone else from Durmstrang will probably be chosen," Neville snapped, a little too angrily.

"Most likely. But still…"she replied calmly, her eyes dreamily gazing off into the distance.

* * *

The next evening at dinner, the large group of Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang students filed into the Great Hall. It was October 31st, Halloween, and the Hall was a-glow with floating jack-o-lanterns. The Goblet of Fire prominently stood in the center of the hall, and Dumbledore stood next to it, ready to announce the champions. As the students settled into the tables, he began to speak.

"The Goblet will now select the three champions," he proclaimed. As he waved his wand at the Goblet, a burst of red flames crackled and a charred piece of parchment floated down to Dumbledore's hand.

"I am pleased to announce that our first champion is Miss Fleur Delacour from Beauxbatons!" The crowd cheered, and the same amazingly beautiful girl that Harry had noticed the night before stood up.

"That's-" started Harry, "I know," finished Ron.

The Goblet once again turned from blue to read, and Dumbledore announced the next champion.

"The champion from Durmstrang is Viktor Krum!"

This was met with even more cheers, as the famous Quidditch player stood up and waved to the crown of students.

"Oh, I knew it!" shouted Luna. Neville scowled.

"And last, but not least, our Hogwarts champion is…" said Dumbledore. "Cedric Diggory of Hufflepuff!"

The Hall erupted in cheers as a handsome Hufflepuff boy stood up from his seat. The three champions walked to Dumbledore and they all shook hands. Everyone was cheering, but then the Goblet once more turned red and spit out a smoldering strip of parchment. The room became deathly silent.

"It seems that the Goblet has selected a fourth champion," Dumbledore said, confused.

"What?" whispered Ron.

Dumbledore unfolded the parchment and quietly announced, "Harry Potter."

Instead of clapping and cheers, a confused murmur sounded throughout the Great Hall. The Slytherin table, particularly Draco Malfoy and his gang, started shouting in outrage.

"What?!?" shouted Ron, once again. "But, you're only in fourth year! C'mon Harry, how did you get your name in? Even Fred and George couldn't get past that Age Line!"

"I… I didn't enter," said Harry, confused.

"Than how…?" started Neville, but he was interrupted with a great shout from Dumbledore:

"Silence! I do not know how this has happened, but I will consult with the other headmasters and we will sort things out. None the less, I expect everyone to be silent as we discuss."

Not a sound was heard in the room, except for the hushed and hurried talk of the headmasters. Finally, Dumbledore turned back to the students.

"It seems as if there will be a fourth champion this year. The Goblet has decided, and there is no way of changing things now."

Fleur began to protest, angrily shouting in her heavy French accent, "He iz just a leetle boy! He cannot compete, he cannot be ze champion!"

Krum also began to question things, asking why Hogwarts was allowed two champions.

"Enough!" Dumbledore shouted. "Harry, Cedric, Fleur, and Viktor, please meet me outside my office tomorrow morning, eight o'clock. Good night." And with that, he turned to go.

"I- I can't do this!" Harry croaked.

"Then maybe you shouldn't have entered!" shouted Ron, scornfully.

"I didn't cheat! I don't want this, Ron!" snapped Harry. "Why would I want this? You said yourself there was a chance of dieing!"

"Of course you don't want it," said Ron sarcastically. "The famous Harry Potter just can never have enough attention!" He stood up from the table and stomped off.

"I'll go talk to him, Harry," said Hermione. "It's just, Ron's just a bit jealous, you know? He'll always be second best compared to you." She quickly hurried after Ron.

"I should go too," said Ginny, and she left as well. Just Harry, Neville, and Luna remained.

"I- I…Harry stuttered, paranoid.

As if reading his thoughts, Luna reached across the table and held his hands. "Harry, you'll be fine," she said soothingly, squeezing his hand. "You confronted _Voldemort_ in your first year! You saved the Sorcerer's Stone, you killed a basilisk, saved Ginny and Sirius, and fought off dementors. I think you'll be able to handle it. Harry, you're brave, you're strong, and you're smart, and you can do this," she said reassuringly, still holding his hands. Neville felt enraged and extremely jealous. He knew he shouldn't be, but he couldn't help it. Luna's two gray orbs of eyes stared at Harry, and finally he spoke.

"Thanks, Luna. Thanks a lot. But, I better go talk to Ron. He seemed pretty angry…"

"Good luck, Harry," she said. As Harry left, she said to Neville:

"I think Harry will do good in the tournament. He might even win. I'll have to teach him about Umgubular Slashkilters, though. They'll surely be part of a task." Then, she stood up, and placed one of her pale, delicate hands on Neville shoulder. "Good bye, Neville."

She walked away in long, graceful strides, and Neville awkwardly stared after her.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: Short chapter, sorry! I tried to keep Neville and Luna in character, though I'm not sure how well I did... I'm not sure if Neville's the jealous type or not, though I portray him to be. I think it's because I always imagined him as being sort of, un-sure of himself and always comparing himself to others. So when someone he was strong feelings about (Luna) seems to prefer others to him, he gets jealous. PLEASE review, just take a minute!

* * *

Harry continued to worry about the tournament all throughout November, and as the date of the first task began steadily creeping up on them, he began to fret even more. Luna constantly engaged Harry in deep, reassuring conversation, just like at the Halloween feast. Her soothing, dreamy voice seemed to help, because Harry calmed down… slightly. Although Neville still felt a twinge of envy when ever she spotted Luna alone with Harry, Ron, or even Dean Thomas.

Finally, November 24th was upon them, and Luna, Neville, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny headed out into the stands to watch the first task. Neville gazed foolishly at Luna as her white-blond hair billowed around her tall, thin frame and her alabaster skin reddened from the cold. She was so beautiful, in her own unique sort of way.

"Neville?" asked Ron, furrowing his brow. Neville snapped out of his fixed stare, blushing with embarrassment that he'd been caught looking at Luna.

"Oh, right. Sorry," he said, feeling rather stupid.

They took their seats, and Dumbledore's voice boomed across the stadium, announcing and explaining the task. In the arena was a fierce Swedish Short-Snout dragon, with its silvery-blue scales glinting in the soft, morning light. Luna, who was seated next to Neville, reached for his hand almost instinctively as the dragon let out a great roar. Luna's cool, pale fingers rested on top of his thin hands, and Neville's skin began to burn from her touch.

"Oh my…" she mumbled. "I do hope that they'll be okay… If only I had lent Harry my beetle ring, it absolutely repels dragons." Neville smiled, he loved how Luna was so quirky. She squeezed his hand nervously and let go, although Neville secretly wished she had kept on, her touch was intoxicating and exhilarating to him.

"_God, I need to get out more…" _Neville thought, remembering how flustered he had become just when Luna's and his skin came in contact.

Neville's thoughts cleared as the first competitor, Cedric, walked into the arena. He was met with roaring cheers from the Hogwarts students, and, a dragon. He expertly transfigured a rock into a dog to distract the creature, and headed for the golden egg. After skillfully dodging the bursts of bright blue flame coming his way, he managed to retrieve the egg. The stands erupted in applause, and Luna jumped to her feet clapping.

Fleur and Viktor also were able to retrieve their eggs, though poor Fleur's skirt caught fire (to which Ron remarked; "That's 'gotta hurt…") and Viktor had ten points deducted. Then it was Harry's turn… Of course, he had the most ferocious dragon of the bunch, the Hungarian Horntail.

Luna bit her soft, pink bottom lip and a look of pure concern and worry was spread across her face.

"Don't worry, Luna, Harry will be fine," said Ginny, although she seemed to be trying to convince herself rather than Luna.

Harry walked into the arena, and various cheers and also boos came from the crowd. The Horntail let out a great growl. Neville looked over to Luna. Her lustrous gray eyes were fixed on Harry, and she seemed to be oblivious to the rest of the world.

Harry muttered something, and all of a sudden a broomstick rushed though the air.

"He's going to ride his broom! That's genius," exclaimed Luna.

Harry battled it out with the dragon, and led it on a wild chase. Finally, he made it to the egg. He had completed the first task. Not only completed the task, but Harry was tied for first place. After the task, Harry strode out of the arena, and was met with excited hugs from Hermione, Ginny, and Luna. They all embraced him, and fussed over this cuts and scrapes. The sight almost made Neville sick. Three beautiful girls, all clustered around Harry. But really, Neville could care less about Hermione and Ginny. It was Luna, with her long, bony arms draped around Harry's neck, that sent a surge of jealously through Neville's thin chest.

Luna couldn't like Harry… could she?


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: New chapter, yay! Not sure how good this is, _please review _and tell me! Warning: One very minor swear word towards the end. Oh, and ice dinkies are something I made up, if anyone's wondering. And, I know I kinda stole the scene from Hermione/Draco in PoA. Sorry! I don't own characters, etc.

* * *

The first of December had came, and winter greeted Hogwarts with a thick blanket of sparkling snow, which made the castle and grounds look very picturesque. On Friday morning at breakfast, Neville and Luna, along with the rest of their friends, were talking, as usual.

"So, Luna," Neville began. "Are you coming to Hogsmeade this afternoon?" he asked nervously.

Luna looked at him curiously and did not reply, but simply continued nibbling on her scone. Finally, she spoke.

"I don't think so."

"Why not?" Neville asked frantically.

"I don't have anyone to go with…" she replied glumly.

"What do you mean you don't have anyone to go with? What about me- uh, I- I mean us?" Neville questioned, quickly correcting himself, and gesturing towards Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione.

"You aren't all sick of me yet? Aren't you all sick of Loony Lovegood?"

"Of course not, Luna, we're your friends! How could you even think that!" he said, raising his voice. He hated to see her put herself down.

"Friends?" Luna asked. Neville nodded, and her face lit up with a bright smile, as did his. "Alright then, Neville, I will most definitely be going to Hogsmeade this afternoon, with my friends. I'll be looking forward to it." And with that, she stood up and walked, or rather more glided, away.

* * *

After classes had been let out for the day, Neville rushed up to the common room and headed into the boy's dormitory, eagerly anticipating the visit to Hogsmeade. He strode into his shared room and was met by Harry and Ron.

"So, Luna's coming, right?" asked Harry.

"Why do you care?" Neville scoffed. He couldn't help but feel envious that Harry had thought about Luna. He knew he shouldn't feel this way, for heaven's sake he didn't even like Luna _like that._

"Settle down, Neville, it was just a question," said Harry.

"Sorry," Neville said, apologizing. "But yeah, she's coming." He felt like such a jerk. Why was he being so protective of Luna anyways? Couldn't she have other guys for friends without it meaning they were 'together'?

"We were just wondering, Neville," said Ron. "Don't worry, we won't steal your girlfriend or anything!"

"She's not my girlfriend," Neville muttered, frustrated. "You know that."

"Sure," said Harry sarcastically. "Well, we better get going," he continued. "I told Ginny we'd meet her and the others outside in a few minutes."

The three boys bundled up in their winter cloaks and scarves and hurried down to the courtyard where Ginny, Hermione, and Luna were waiting. Neville's eyes were immediately drawn to Luna, whose pale skin almost seemed to match the snow. Her cheeks were rosy from the chill and soft snowflakes fluttered down from the sky and collected in her curly, golden hair. Her shining silver eyes lit up when she saw Neville, Harry, and Ron approaching, and she gave them a bright smile.

"Great, you're here!" Luna said, excitedly. "Ready to go?"

The group started strolling along the path to Hogsmeade, the delicate snowflakes drifting around them.

"This is fun, having friends. Today is a wonderful day," Luna said, matter-of-factly. Neville wasn't sure exactly how to reply, so he simply smiled at her. He couldn't help but think about how out of place she looked, a small island of blue and silver in a sea of scarlet and gold. She was so different from any of them, definitely in more ways than just her house, but yet she seemed to fit in perfectly.

Luna, Neville, Ginny, Harry, Hermione, and Ron were walking and chatting, when all of a sudden the unmistakable voice of Draco Malfoy yelled from behind "Hey Loony!"

Luna turned around, only to be met with a large snowball thrown at her face. Draco and his friends were howling with laughter. The group stopped walking, and turned to face Malfoy.

"Oh," said Luna calmly, wiping the snow off her face. She didn't even seem to be fazed.

"Shut up you gits," growled Neville. This was met with another snowball, although this time directed at Neville's head, and they laughed even harder.

After this, Luna simply bent down and began forming her own snowball. Draco and his gang were too busy snickering to notice Luna launch the snowball in their direction. It hit Draco square in the face, and it was the other group's turn to laugh.

"What the hell was that?!?" yelled Draco.

"What do you think it is, Malfoy? It's a snowball. I thought even you could have figured that out," said Luna with a giggle.

Draco marched up to Luna with his wand drawn, they were less than a few feet apart. It was quite a funny site, Loony Lovegood, who was probably a head taller than Draco, was reacting as if he was holding a lovely flower and not pointing a dangerous wand, ready to hex her.

"Hey, watch it Malfoy," shouted Neville, pulling out his wand as well. He could only imaging what Draco would do to her.

"Oh, there's no need for wands, you two," said Luna in her same dreamy voice, and before Draco could react she gave him a hard punch in the face. Neville thought he heard something crack… Draco, who was now fuming with anger, was sprawled out in the snow, and everyone was laughing hysterically.

"Sorry about that, Draco," said Luna. "But with your wand drawn you were obviously threatening me. I really had no choice but to defend myself." With that, she began to walk away, but, turning around, she added; "Oh, and Draco? You might want to watch out for Ice Dinkies, they tend to hide in snow banks."

The group walked away from the furious Draco, and Neville commented:

"Luna, that was bloody brilliant."

"You got that right," said Ron, and Ginny, Hermione, and Harry laughed and nodded in agreement.

"Thanks," Luna said with a chuckle. "It felt really good. I've been waiting to do that for years, except my father always says not to be violent."

"I think your father would understand, most common rules of courtesy don't apply to Draco Malfoy," snorted Harry.


End file.
